


You have the right to remain silent

by Vernin



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Almost no plot, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Attempt at Humor, Banter, Because Grantaire is Grantaire, Character Study, Developing Relationship, Enjolras/Grantaire-centric, First Meetings, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Happy Ending, I am a little confused, Love at First Sight, M/M, Modern Era, One Shot, Police, Short & Sweet, Slice of Life, Strangers to Friends, Talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:35:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24361429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vernin/pseuds/Vernin
Summary: Grantaire had not expected there to be a police car involved in his Thursday evening plans. Even more so, he hadn't expected to make a new friend in it.Aka: Grantaire and Enjolras have their first meeting inside a police car after getting arrested.
Relationships: Enjolras/Grantaire (Les Misérables)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40





	You have the right to remain silent

**Author's Note:**

> This long overdue. I'm currently trying to actually finish a lot of my fics and I've been sitting on this finished for over a month.  
> I figured I should just get it out there :)
> 
> Enjoy!

This was not how Grantaire had expected to spend his Thursday evening. In his mind he had envisioned himself sitting alone in his little apartment, surrounded by his organized chaos while throwing together some half assed painting for one of his art classes.

What he had _not_ expected, was the fact that there would be a police car involved in his afternoon plans. And he had most certainly not expected to be sitting _in_ said police car.

It was of course not _entirely_ their fault that Grantaire was in his current position. He had to admit that he could easily have avoided this exact predicament had he just stayed back instead of engaging in the action. After all, it wasn’t necessary of him to tackle that cop, he knew Courfeyrac was more than capable of taking care of himself. 

__

Running a hand down his face, Grantaire leaned back against the padded seat and exhaled. He didn’t know what had happened to the rest of the little group he’d arrived together with, but he guessed they all were smart enough to avoid any more trouble and leave after they saw Grantaire dragged away. He would rather them going home than stir things up even more.

__

From the outside he could hear the voices of the people who were still there. The tinted windows were obscuring the view, but he could make out the silhouettes of people and from the looks of it, it seemed as if the police had everything under control.

__

A creek in the metal and a shift in the car made him turn his head towards the door on the opposite side. He held his breath, waiting for someone to appear and tell him this was all a big mistake, and that he would be let go with only a warning. After all nobody had gotten seriously hurt. Everything had mostly been verbal.

__

Instead Grantaire caught a glimpse of two peoples coming up towards the car and stopping just before it. Close enough for their voices to penetrate the thin walls of the car, and for the roof to cut them off from the top of their shoulders.

__

“This is the third time this month, Enjolras. One more time and you’re going to get in some serious trouble.” The one talking was taller and standing straighter than a military soldier while glaring down at what looked like a teenage boy. His hands were on his hips and the posture somehow made him look like a disappointed dad, Grantaire thought.

__

The teenager scoffed. His shoulders twitching under his red oversized hoodie. “It’s not like I haven’t been arrested before. And what happened here today was not my fault. I did not take any direct actions and I was not even a part of the group that organized this.” He took a breath. “You know that if I was, this would never had happened.”

__

“You sound like a cocky teenager.” He commented slowly.

__

“What I mean is that I care about this cause. I know this was not the best scenario, but I had to support it non the less. The fact that there are other people starting things like things just proves that it’s a cause worth fighting for."

__

The officer visibly deflated, shoulders falling while he shook his head slowly. Another classical dad move. Grantaire had seen his fair share of that gesture up over the years.

__

“Kid. Please stop it, it’s not worth it.” He warned, but the other only scoffed and crossed his arms.

__

“I wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t important.”

__

For a moment they stood in silence and Grantaire couldn’t help but smile on behalf of the other. He knew it was not a big victory, but their interaction had at least made this whole experience a little more entertaining than he would have anticipated.

__

To be quite honest he had not even known what this whole ordeal had been about. Form an outsider’s perspective it was just a bunch of teenagers and young adults stationed out on an open grass field in the middle of the big city. It had looked like a huge picnic with signs. Then people had started shouting and Grantaire had watched it spiral from there until it had gotten so chaotic, he had started to find it interesting.

__

Hearing this guy talk about this event was like hearing an English major go on and on about how deep Shakespeare’s writing was. He had heard it a million times before from a million different people, who all thought they were destined to bring light to this topic.

Usually Grantaire though it all only nonsense. Everyone had a tell about them that reviewed they were never really invested in it in the first place but got stuck with a cause they felt forced to convey anyway.

__

Not this time though. It sounded so sincere it sent chills down his spine. The raw energy in his words you usually only heard from people who lied their ass of somehow reversed to be positive. Never in a million years had he ever thought he would favor someone like that. But then again, Grantaire was not a stranger to being dead wrong.

__

“Your phone please- Thank you.” The blond had placed it in his hand almost even before he had managed to finish his sentence. It was like the movements went on autopilot.

The man reached around him and opened the door, gesturing for him to get inside. As the door closed behind him the police officer had shot one last look at both of them. As if to say “behave, both of you”.

__

——————

__

Silence seemed to fall over the little space like a soundproof blanket and when the other seemed to settle down it was as if he finally noticed there was someone else there. Their eyes met and Grantaire was momentarily taken aback with just how piercing blue his eyes were. Demanding attention to themselves and the person they belonged to.

__

The other seemed to catch on to his blatant staring and Grantaire panicked for a second knowing full well he did not have any excuses to be staring like a creep.  
He really didn’t want to ruin this before it had even started. Not that that was something he was thinking about. Taking one final deep breath he closed his eyes for a moment and took a leap of faith.

__

“I'm Grantaire.” he managed to squeak out and was just about to reach out his right hand before realizing their positioning in the tight space made his movements awkward. The blonde only looked at him with one eyebrow raised and with serious doubt in his gaze, like he had somehow managed to offend him already.

__

“Enjolras.” he said slowly, dragging out the letters as if he had not yet decided if he wanted to share it. A have of relief washed over him and Grantaire wanted to fall down on his knees, raise his hands to the sky and thank whoever god had blessed him. Because something as gorgeous as Enjolras could not possibly have been created by a human.

__

“Happy to meet.” He grinned and was met with an awkward half smile in return.

__

“Hardly anything happy about this. I’m sorry it was a waste of time.”

__

“Oh- I was only there for the violence.” It slipped out of him before his brain cell had the chance to stop him, and it earned him a long continuous stare. Blue eyes sitting under tightly drawn together eyebrows.

__

“So, you’re one of those people,” His voice fell flat and Grantaire could sense a hint of restrained hostility in the far background. “If you don’t want to help the case why were you even there in the first place?”

__

Grantaire blinked. Yes, it had seemed like this event had been somewhat important. It wasn’t that he was disinterested per say, it was more the fact that he had a hard time believing that someone could actually take something like this serious. Like it meant something. It was sort of refreshing from his own contemptuous repetitive thoughts.

__

“Like I said…The violence?” He sounded a little more unsure. On one hand it was true. If nothing interested had happened, they would have walked right past. On the other hand; He really found this conversation quickly turning against him.

__

“So what you’re saying is that you’re one of those followers who join in on violence without any context or thought about the consequences it might cause?!”

__

“Oh, I’m not a follower of anyone.” He blurted it out before his brain managed to process it thoroughly and for a long second Grantaire was sure he had just insulted the others spirituality.

Instead he got what looked like a recurring smile mixed with something that seemed to be an attempt at looking humored. Grantaire was really not sure on what all the facial acrobatics really meant, but he could roll with it.

__

“Well I can’t really fault you for that…” Enjolras deflated against the back of the seat. “God this turned out to be such a mess.”

__

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up over it. Trust me, I’m very familiar with having things basically fall to pieces before your feet. You just have to gather yourself up, suck it in and try again until it works. Even if that means you have to bring out the duct tape.” He didn’t know if Enjolras would get anything out of this, but if he could manage to take at least a fraction of guilt of his shoulders, Grantaire would count it as a win.

__

“Wow, where did that optimistic speech come from?”

__

“Oh, this is not optimism. This is pessimism at its most functional.” He grinned.

__

“I don’t doubt it for a second.” There was a smile forming on his face, and unlike before this was actually something he could decipher as a pleasant look. Although it was for sure going to backfire were he to admit it, Grantaire felt like the luckiest person alive. Might as well ride that wave while it lasts.

__

“On the topic of optimism. You come here often?”

__

“That obvious huh…” There was a light flush forming on his cheeks. It really wasn’t visible at all, Enjolras looked like a fish out of water in this police car, but Grantaire was sure he did that in a lot of other cases regardless. Had it not been for the conversation earlier he wouldn’t have believed it.

__

Grantaire shrugged. “Not at all.” And it was true. Enjolras certainly didn’t look the type to get in trouble with the law on a regular basis. “Me myself on the other hand is _not_ quite as familiar with this prison on wheels.” He clapped the darkened window lightly and laughed at the ‘I don’t believe you look’ he was getting.

Weirdly enough it was not the first time someone had thought he was lying about his arrest history. While having gotten his fair share of tickets from drinking in public, he had never actually been physically taken in.

__

“Let’s just hope it won’t become a habit.” And by that Grantaire was absolutely not imagining the conversation he would have with his children about how they kept meeting by getting arrested and later got married, because that would be weird. Maybe it was just him, but the air suddenly felt a lot thicker than moments before.

__

“Didn’t plan on it.” He said with a smile.

__

——————

__

The door opened on the driver’s side and the same officer as before entered. He leaned back against the headrest and sighed, resting his arm on the opposite seat.

__

“Nice to see you two getting along.” He grinned like he found this extremely hilarious. From beside him, Enjolras went rigid.

__

“What, you think just because we’re youth without any available phones that we’re unable to interact with each other?”

__

There was absolutely no telling if it was meant to be sarcastic or nor, but Grantaire thought that was the intention.

__

“Calm down you little shit, you sound like my mom.” His tone was teasing and filled with familiarity that knew exactly what buttons to push. Enjolras expression twisted into the most offended look Grantaire had ever witness. Mouth turned down in distaste and eyes wide in disbelief. Something deep down in the pit of his stomach, Grantaire almost felt jealous. _Almost._

__

“That’s verbal harassment.” Enjolras exclaimed.

__

“I’ll tell my mom you said that.”

__

“Don’t you dare. You started this and Grantaire is an eye and ear witness. I’ll have the jury at my side.”

__

They had a little stare off and Grantaire could see the gears turn inside the man’s head as he looked back and forth between them. It was a like a light bulb lit up all over his face.

__

“Wow, I left you here for about what…fifteen minutes? And you’re already on first name basis. I’m proud of you kiddo. You’re making friends!” It was the most obnoxious proclamation Grantaire had heard in a long time and he thought it was frigging hilarious.

__

Enjolras must have caught on to the low chuckles he tried to stifle because he felt an elbow at his side, gently jabbing at him.

__

“While we’re on the topic. Did you see Combeferre by any chance?”

__

Enjolras’ elbow remained at his side.

__

“Mhm, yeah I talked to him actually. Offered to drive him home, but he gave me that Combeferre look and told me to take care of you.”

__

Something in Grantaire’s mind clicked at that and he was suddenly taken aback at the new information he managed to string together. For the past few weeks he had heard Courfeyrac mention that name at least a dozen times, often followed up by a compliment or twenty.

Every time Grantaire had rolled his eyes at how ridiculous he sounded Coufeyrac had smugly added in the fact that Combeferre had a friend he should meet. For some reason he now felt like he needed to take him up on that offer. Call it a gut feeling.

__

“Alright kids,” The man in front brought his hands together and cleared his throat like he just now realized he actually had a job to do. “I’ll take you down to the station where you’ll fill out a few papers, and then you’ll be free to go.”

__

“That’s all?” Enjolras sounded almost disappointed. The guy laughed and adjusted the front mirror to look directly at them in the back seat. “Why the long face? You hoping to spend the night in a holding cell with your buddy?”

__

Grantaire felt his face heat up. He was definitely not opposed to the thought, but he guess the circumstances could have been better.

__

——————

__

The ride down to the station was weirdly pleasant. They either talked to each other, or he would sit and listen to the other two bickering back and forth like old friends. He even joined in a few times if the topic was interesting enough. It surprised him that he found it as engaging as he did.

He wanted to say it was because of the springing light heartedness of everything, but there was something in the back of his mind whispering that this wouldn’t have been nearly as pleasant if it wasn’t for Enjolras sitting beside him.

The way he talked had Grantaire at the edge of his seat, watching with an opened mind as he admired the words that sounded like they had a lifetime of experience behind them. His emphasizing movements only strengthening the content and tying it all neatly together in a neat package.

__

It hit him that Enjolras could possibly talk about anything from here to the moon and back and it would be just as engaging to his ears and hearth. It would made him care non the less, and that thought was as equally frightening as it was desired.

__

He contemplated that while signing under the paper at the station not really paying any attention to what it said, only looking over at Enjolras to see if he was doing it correctly. They got their phones back right after and the officer he had yet to learn the name of offered to take them home, only for Enjolras to decline prompting Grantaire to do the same.

He had given them both one final look before waving them off, saying it was getting late and that they should hurry back home.

__

They managed to walk a whole two streets down before finding it time to split ways. Grantaire was more than eager to offer to walk him home, but he guessed it was a _little_ early for that. Instead he settles on a safe: “So…Will I see you again?”

__

“You know. I’m a part of this student group…” He trailed off suggestively. Grantaire raised an eyebrow. Enjolras was quick to add: “You don’t need to take part in the protests. We have meetings about once or twice a week, but we don’t talk about activism _all_ the time. We have fun to, you know. Just hanging out and stuff…”

__

Grantaire cherished in the thought that Enjolras was bribing him to join.

__

“Well I really do wanna know what you classify as _fun_ that isn’t connected to politics.”

__

“Only one way to find out.” Enjolras blurted out quicker than either of them had expected. The shade of the sky matched the color of Enjolras’ cheeks.

__

“I’ll consider it.” And by that he really meant his schedule was cleared for the rest of eternity.

__

——————

__

By the time he arrived back home the sun had completely disappeared. The tall combined buildings cast a navy shadow out towards the cobbled streets, which was lit up by a few lonely lights that amplified the cracks in the stone.

__

His apartment looked the same as it had when he had left it earlier that day. The half assed painting standing leaning against the back of the couch daring him to just pick it up and finish it. When he had left with Courfeyrac earlier that day he had told himself it didn’t look that bad. Now he cringed internally just at the sight of the bad excuse of a portrait.

__

It needed another layer of paint. And it needed it _now._

__

He moved to ready his workstation, picking up one of the brushes which had gone crusty after a poor cleaning job. His hands moved on autopilot as the first strokes was hastily put down, swirling around and slowly but surely blocking out the outline of a face Grantaire was sure he would never forget.

__

**Author's Note:**

> So...Technically they don't get together in this fic, but it's implied? I don't even know, I just wanted to write this one day and I hope it came out as a sort of sweet first meeting. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! :D
> 
> (Also if you find the formating weird, please tell me.)


End file.
